Remember Stuart Smalley? You know, the guy on Saturday Night Live who'd gaze in the mirror and, with a plastered smile, recite aloud, "I'm good enough. I'm smart enough. And, doggone it, people like me." Don't let this spoof put a bad taste in your mouth about using affirmations: They really do work--when you do them properly.

Ask Ken Gootnick, 36, president and founder of It's All Greek To Me, a Simi Valley, California, company that develops imprinted products for promotional, collegiate and souvenir markets. Gootnick regularly uses positive affirmations to cultivate a mind-set that pushes him toward his goals. "When you repeat affirmations, you feel more positive about your life and the day ahead," he says. "You foster self-esteem and a feeling of confidence, and people want to be around you. Everything begins to come together."

"Come together" it has for Gootnick, who started his company at age 19 as a sophomore at UCLA. He's since grown it into an enterprise with 230 employees and projected 1999 sales of $30 million. He gives a lot of credit to his own consistent use of affirmations.

Talking Points

How do you create affirmations that work for you? Ron Guzik, a
motivational speaker and business consultant in Glendale Heights,
Illinois, and author of The Inner Game of Entrepreneuring, a
book that shows readers how to achieve the various psychological
qualities entrepreneurs need to succeed, offers the following four
tips:

1. Make affirmations personal. The purpose of using
affirmations, according to Guzik, is to reinforce a personal trait
that you want to see developed or changed in your life. For
example, if you're a chronic procrastinator, repeat to yourself
something like "I'm on top of things, and I follow up on
projects with energy and attention to detail."

2. Use the present tense. "Many of the people who do
brain research today believe your day-to-day actions come out of
your subconscious mind," says Guzik. "Positive,
present-tense affirmations are about trying to encourage, reinforce
and build the subconscious beliefs you want to have in the
future."

4. Invoke feeling. "Many times when people have
goals, what they really want are the feelings they get when they
achieve their goal: the feelings of pride, satisfaction and
accomplishment," Guzik observes. "When you use
affirmations, try to bring those [feelings] into the
process."

Mirror, Mirror

When should you use affirmations? The most critical time is when
negative thoughts start to creep into your mind. "Often the
things we say to ourselves are not encouraging, not supportive, and
there's a lot of feedback from the outside world that,
generally speaking, is not positive," Guzik notes.
"Affirmations are a way of counteracting [negative self-talk]
with positive things you're moving toward--things you're
trying to achieve."

Guzik also suggests planning time in your day to recite
affirmations, preferably three times a day: morning, afternoon and
evening. This way, you stay focused on what you want to achieve
throughout the day.

Stuart Smalley aside, Guzik admits he always repeats his
affirmations in front of a mirror. Whether you choose to say your
affirmations in the shower or in the car as you commute to and from
the office, the main thing is that you do it on a consistent basis.
To that end, Guzik advises, "Choose a routine that works with
your life."

Mirror Mantras

New to affirmations and don't know where to begin?
Motivational speaker and business consultant Ron Guzik suggests
repeating the following "starter" affirmations to
yourself:

I'm doing something every day to move my business
forward.

I learn from everything that happens around me and to me.

I retain my power when I take responsibility for my
actions.

I am more productive when I focus on solutions rather than the
problem.

I fail only when I stop trying.

My limits are largely self-imposed; I can change that.

For more affirmations, consult Guzik's book, The Inner
Game of Entrepreneuring (Upstart, $18.95, 800-829-7934).